Temporary Deputy Chief Constable Gavin Stephens said PIYN would allow the force to respond to those who most needed help.

"The public have a big part to play in making that happen by understanding whether their situation is actually a policing matter and if it is whether it is then an emergency or not," he said.

"That's why we've had to raise awareness of what we should and shouldn't be dealing with."

Mr Stephens said the force receives around 675,500 contacts a year from the public and last year deployed to 10,270 incidents which were 'not policing matters'.

"This is a clear indication of why we cannot carry on as we have been," he said.

"In cases where it's a policing matter but it's not an emergency - if we were able to resolve 25,000 calls over the phone without deployment we would be able to save £1.8m.

"This is based on the average cost of £40 per officer and 1.8 officers per deployment.

"Calls to 999 should only be made for serious crimes, crimes in action or if someone's life is in danger. If it is a policing matter but does not fall into those categories we ask the public to report online or call 101 anytime.”

Crime

153%

Reports of rape

122%

Reports of sexual offences

34%

Reports of domestic violence

-24%

Reports of house burglaries

-32%

Reports of theft from cars

50-60%

Crimes involve a vulnerable victim, witness or offender

Surrey Police

New model

From Sunday, the force will undergo a radical makeover, with the Targeted Patrol teams disappearing completely, affecting 404 officers.

Instead, 821 officers will form an Area Policing Team.

The Safer Neighbourhood Team will reduce by more than half, with a current contingency of 438 dropping to 187 officers.

The Community Safety Team will stay the same, with 71 officers, but CID's will be slashed from 393 to 147 officers.

From 2015/19, the force will aim to slash the budget for local policing by 10%, saving £10.2m.

The Specialist Crime Command, which deals with the county's most serious offences, including the intelligence, forensics and major crime teams, will have its budget reduced by 18%, with savings of £5.5m to be found.